Newly minted in the space vacated by dumpling house Great Wow when the six-month-old eatery relocated to Hillcrest back in February 2017 is Red Cate Hot Pot.
Authentic, Quality & Freshness~
Located at 3860 Convoy Street, the restaurant is just the latest entry in the Chinese hot pot craze that’s sweeping San Diego and concentrated in the Kearny Mesa area. Red Cate specializes in the signature hot pot of Chongqing, a city in Southwest China know for its spicy food. With ordering done via a choose-your-own-ingredients menu, the dish starts with a base of either spicy broth or bone soup, or half and half, that simmers in a central pot set into the dining tables. From there, you choose from a variety of meat, seafood, vegetables to cook in the broth; Red Cate offers a large selection of offal, including beef heart and tripe plus pork brain and kidney.
As the name suggested, Sichuan hot pot was originated from Sichuan Province which is known for its appetite for spicy food. This mouth-burning and tongue-numbing hot pot has been gaining enormous amount of attention in recent years in the States. With Sichuan hot pot restaurants springing up in San Diego, I figure I’d first give a brief history of this new sensation.
The commonly accepted theory traces the Sichuan Hot Pot back to early 20 century. The use of spicy broth was first intended to disguise the faulty taste from the offal. However after some modification and addition of fragrant spices, this one pot meal became a popular dish in Sichuan region.After years of continuous development, the Sichuan Hot Pot today is much more refined and no longer a meal for the lower-class. Although offal still remains as classic hot pot ingredients, high quality meats and seafood ingredients are also common on the menu. The modern hot pot has been shape into a progressive meal that starts with sliced meat, offal, and seafood followed by vegetables and ends with noodles.
Red Cate Hot Pot (Tradtional Sichuan spicy)
- Address：3860 Convoy St San Diego, CA 92111 （Sage French Cake隔壁）
- Phone： (858) 987-0069
- Deals: 20% off for Yelp 5 stars check-in